March 6th, 2024
Years ago, the pastor at our church gave a homily in which he mentioned addictions. The priest, Father Aufdermauer, stated that an addict is trying to fill a hole in his soul with drugs and other material things. However, because the longing their soul is insatiable, it can only be filled by something or someone that is infinite, which is by definition, God.
At the time, I thought that insight was profound. It sounded simple and truthful. Now, after having had a couple more decades of life experiences, I think his explanation was a bit simplistic. I don’t mean that our pastor was wrong. I mean that the issue is more complicated.
A few weeks ago, I had coffee with a friend of mine. He is a retired physician, and we met at a Bible study a long time ago. He made the comment that all people are addicts in some way. The main question is: “What are you addicted to?” The follow up question is: “Is the addiction harmful, and can it be changed to something more positive?”
My friend’s observation is actually very Buddhist in a way. In Zen, a great deal of emphasis is placed on detachment. Attachment to people or things is what causes unhappiness. For an individual to get off the turning wheel of suffering requires that they are not attached, or addicted, to anything, including ideas. We tend to look at the obvious and gross forms of addiction: drugs, booze, gambling, sex, whatever. Ideas and beliefs are also hooks.
There are many rehab programs to help people to deal with destructive addictions. These recovery programs generally focus on the most harmful attachment: maybe alcohol or smack. Other addictions are tolerated or actively encouraged. It is not unusual to see a group of people standing outside of a building and smoking just before a 12-step meeting starts. Coffee always flows freely at these meetings. Hard drugs are considered to be bad. Nicotine and caffeine, not so much.
It seems that at these meetings the goal is to shift the addiction from whatever is causing the person serious problems to an attachment to a “higher power”. Sometimes, having the addict hook up with God works splendidly. Sometimes it doesn’t. Is the individual connecting with a higher power, or is that person simply listening to the voices in their head? Has the person only found a more socially acceptable drug? Is it just a new idol? If you worship something or someone, you’re addicted to that thing or that person. It doesn’t matter if it’s heroin or Jesus.
Meister Eckhart, the 13th century priest and mystic, once prayed,
“God, rid me of God.”
That’s a rather enigmatic prayer, but a valid one.
Meister Eckhart wasn’t trying to literally free himself from God. He was trying to get free of his notions about God. He wanted God to clear away his illusions, so he could see the truth. Since God is infinite, and humans are not, we can’t ever see all the aspects of the Divine. That’s okay. We are drinking from a bottomless well. We don’t need all the answers. The joy is in the search.
How does a person know if they are addicted to God, or to a mental construct? There is a litmus test in the real world. If my relationship with God makes me angry, resentful, and bigoted, then I am probably hooked up with an idol of my own making. If my attachment makes me humble, generous, and tolerant, then I’m on the right track.
I’m going to be an addict regardless of what I do. I might as well get hooked on something good.
Frank is Emptiness 